Linda Marie Smith

Mrs. Linda Marie Smith, age 68, of St. Martins, Mo., passed away peacefully on Tuesday, June 8, 2021, at her home. Linda was born on July 13, 1952, in Perryville, Mo., a daughter of Raymond Thomas and Myrtle Catherine (Meyer) Kreitler. She was married on February 1, 1972, in Jefferson City, Mo. to Larry W. Smith, who preceded her in death on December 26, 1998. A lifelong resident of the central Missouri area, Linda was a 1971 graduate of St. Genevieve High School. After graduation, Linda attended Capital Business College where she graduated with an Associate's degree in Business Administration in 1973. For 33 years, Linda worked for the Cole County Health Department where she was an Office Manager and Clerk. She retired in July of 2007, and worked for the family diner, Denise's Diner and Catering. There, she ran the register, socialized, and did whatever she could to help. Linda was a collector of all sorts. She had a broad collection of Amish items, cookbooks, and biographies of country music artists. Some of her favorite places to find these treasures were garage sales and thrift stores. Linda kept up with NASCAR and the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. She could often be found watching her favorite game shows including The Price is Right, Jeopardy, and Wheel of Fortune. She always called out to her daughter Laura to help her answer all of the questions and to solve the riddles. Linda enjoyed going on car rides with her grandson and one of their favorite things to do was to go drive by and look at the geese at Binder Park. Most of all, Linda cherished the time and memories that she made with her family, especially family nights. She was always there to lend a helping hand, give advice, and to just spend quality time with. She truly was the best Grammy and she will be missed by all that knew and loved her. Survivors include: her daughter, Laura Smith-Lehmen and her husband John of St. Martins, Mo.; three grandchildren, Cody Wheeler and his fiance Cory, Elizabeth and Cameron Linch, and Katie Lehmen; one great-granddaughter, Kennedy Lehmen; and two granddogs, Diesel and Jake. Linda was preceded in death by her loving husband; her parents; two sisters, Brenda Clark and Lucille Proctor; brother-in-law, Joseph Proctor; and nephew, James Proctor. Visitation will be held at Freeman Mortuary on Saturday, June 12, 2021, from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. A Celebration of Life will follow at 1:00 p.m. with the Reverend I.C. Medina officiating. Graveside services and interment will be held at Hawthorn Memorial Gardens. A webcast of the funeral service will begin on Saturday at 12:45 p.m. for friends that are not able to attend by going to her memorial page on Freeman Mortuary's website. Friends may mail sympathy cards to the funeral home or leave condolences online to be given to her family. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are suggested to the Linda Smith Memorial Fund. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Freeman Mortuary. www.freemanmortuary.com